Can We Talk?
by BookishGray
Summary: An epilogue to Episode 5. The day after the case was solved, Bigby asked Snow if they could talk. Of course, being the new deputy mayor, she didn't have time. Well, until now, that is. Major Snow/Bigby references. Rated T for some coarse language. Thanks for reading!


**AN: Hey, all! It's Gray here once again with another Snow/Bigby one-shot because I haven't written for TWUA or Fables in a while and I really miss this couple. In honor of episode 5, I wrote this little epilogue to the game. I hated the game's ending because of how tense Snow and Bigby suddenly became. I felt the need to fix that, and this was born.**

**_NOTE_: this story is in Snow's POV. Because I've never written from her POV before (or anyone like her) this could end up very OOC. If you have any issue with the narration or dialoge, PM me or put it in the reviews and I'll take it under consideration for my next TWUA stories. Thank you so much! ~Gray**

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"We'll talk later, okay?"

That's what I told Bigby before I rushed off to meet with Bluebeard. I make a good friend for once in my life, and what do I do? Push him away. Again. It's not like I had a choice, though. Now that I'm Deputy Mayor, I have to catch up on all the missed work and keep up with current work. I can't just take breaks anymore. Still, I feel like I stabbed him in the back, suddenly becoming as cold as I did. He probably thinks I was only brushing him off, that I don't really want to talk. I mean, there have been a lot of times where I've said things I didn't mean...

_"I'm fine. Don't worry about me."_

_"I can handle this."_

_"I'm not yours to lose!"_

...but now isn't one of those times. I really want to talk to him, I just needed to make time for it. And if the middle of the night is the only time I have, so be it.

I'm standing outside his apartment door. It's late at night, nearly midnight, and I haven't caught a wink of sleep in days. I'm so tired, but I can't let this wait any longer. I slowly bring my hand up to the door. What if he's asleep? I don't want to bother him... but still need to talk to him...

I run my fingers through my hair, freeing it from the bun I had it in earlier. I take a deep breath, exhale slowly, and rap three times on the door, crisply and confidently.

At first nothing happens, and I fear that maybe he's ready gone to bed. I turn away, disappointed, but before I can go far, the door creaks open behind me. I turn back around, astonished to find a groggy, tired-looking, but still fully dressed Bigby in the doorway.

"Snow?" he croaks, stifling a yawn with his hand. "What are you doing here so late?"

I clear my throat, trying to find a way to say what I want. "I... Well... you asked..." Smooth, princess. "How about that talk you wanted to have?"

Bigby raised his eyebrows. "Now?"

I nod. Bigby shrugs. "Sure," he agrees. He ducks back inside his apartment for a few seconds before coming back out wearing his long, brown overcoat.

We walk in silence down the hall. It isn't until we're in the elevator that he says something. "Your hair's down," he notices.

"Yeah, it's just that I-"

"It looks nice," he cuts me off before I can make a fool of myself again. He flashes me a small smile.

I look down, studying my shoes. "Thank you, Sheriff." Did I just call him Sheriff? God dammit. There I go, acting all formal again. I've acted that way toward him since yesterday. Why?

The elevator dings, signalling we're at the bottom. We both step out, hardly having to sneak past Grimble. He's asleep, per the usual. Bigby holds the door open for me as we step into the chilled outdoor air. I don't know why I immediately led him here, to the courtyard. There's nothing special about this place. I don't even let people on the grass.

I lead him to the grassy lawn in front, and step into the moist foliage, dampening the insides of my shoes, but I don't care.

Bigby stares at me quizzically. "You never let anyone on the grass," he says.

"I know. I'm doing things a little different tonight," I reply quietly. I take him by the arm and pull him into the garden with me. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder against the trunk of the large oak tree. My beige blazer usually keeps me warm, but now I can feel the wind penetrating the thin fabric. I start to shiver.

Bigby tries to slip his coat off to give it to me, but I stop him. "No," I tell him, "it's yours. I don't need it."

"You look freezing," he argues, "Cold as snow, almost." I almost think his choice of words is a coincidence until I look up and notice the thin grin cracked across his face. I chuckle. He takes my trembling hand in his own warm one. "See? You'll be frozen solid if you don't warm up."

"I'm fine, Mr. Wolf, but thank you for the offer," I step away from him, but he stands in the same position. He does drop my hand, though. Why do I keep acting so formal? This is Bigby I'm talking to.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" I ask.

"Everything. I mostly wanted to see how you were holding up, though," he replied thoughtfully.

"Well..." I need someone to vent my frustration to, I guess. "It's stressful, for sure. It's only been one day, but Bluebeard keeps pressuring me to move too fast. I have to catch up on the work we missed while on the case, do current work, sort out everything Crane messed up _and_ try to help reform Fabletown's system. I need to pay attention to everything and everyone at once. I want a break, but at the same time, I don't know if I can trust anyone else to handle all this, nor do I want to burden anyone with it."

Bigby is silent for a while, seemingly thinking about what I said. After a minute, he finally answers, "Wow. Don't you have any help?"

I nod. "I hired Boy Blue to help out with a few little jobs, but... I don't know, what if I'm just being dramatic? What if I'm just whining?"

"You aren't being dramatic, Snow. It's only been one day and everyone is already throwing all their problems at you. I can't imagine how stressful that is," Bigby assures me.

I smile gratefully. "Thank you... for listening to me," I thank him awkwardly. Funny. He wanted to see how _I'm_ doing after all this when _he_ was the one being attacked and shot at just yesterday. How ironic. The Big Bad Wolf is more kind than I am most of the time.

"No problem," Bigby smiles a bit. "Oh, and..." He pulls a box out of his pocket, and takes a half-step in my direction, holding the box out. Is it... for me? He wouldn't get me a gift, would he?

"From TJ," he says, dispelling my theory. "He said you liked it, and he wanted you to remember him." I take the small box from his hands. TJ must have given it to him before he left for the Farm, the poor little frog.

I crack the box open and peek inside. A royal blue beetle is laid inside, its shell glinting in the moonlight. "The willow beetle. I told him I liked it best. I didn't think he would..." I look up at Bigby. "Thanks." I shove the box into my pocket.

"Yeah." Bigby looks up at the moon, avoiding my gaze. I shiver again and take a step closer to him.

"Is there something else you wanted to say?" I ask. He seems distracted, not himself. He looks back at me with an expression I can't name.

"It's only been a day," he begins, running a hand down his stubbly jaw. "But I feel like everything is already so different. I'm treated like Fabletown's savior now, but they're still afraid of me, I can feel it. And I don't like it. I feel like I'm some sort of king that everyone praises, but he'll still bite your head off if you take just one step out-of-bounds - which, honestly, I might." I know what he means. I've been living that role for years. "And, plus, I kind of enjoyed some of the perks of investigating."

"I hope you don't mean destroying people's stuff and getting shot at," I try to say it humorously, but it accidentally comes out more callous than I meant.

Bigby laughs anyway. "As fun as all _that _shit was, I mean I'll miss working with you."

"Oh," I say, stiffening a little. Did he just say that? What does he mean?

"I mean, you, uh, you were - _are, _I hope - one of my only friends around here. And you're now full deputy mayor so..."

"Yeah. I... I won't have a lot of time for things like friendship anymore, I guess," I mumble. I'm confused. Did he mean something more than what he said? He _liked _working with me? I shiver again, and I don't protest this time when Bigby offers his jacket to me. I wrap it around my shoulders tightly, closing my eyes and breathing deeply.

"I'm going to change Fabletown, Bigby," I tell him, willing myself to use his first name. "I need to fix this, no matter how much work it takes. But I'm still sorry for the way I treated you earlier today. I'm just trying to find a way to work everything out, just trying to solve the problems. There's just so much more responsibility now." The thought of my future crosses my mind. No more quick coffee breaks, no more dropping by the sheriff's office just to talk, no more dreams of vacations. I'd give it all up in the blink of an eye to save this town, but... is it selfish to think of what I want, too?

I feel myself lean farther into the sheriff so we're now shoulder-to-shoulder, me resting my head on his shoulder. He tentatively rests a hand on my lower back, pulling me a little closer. I get a weird feeling in my stomach when I realize how intimate our position is. I hope no one comes out and sees us - which is a little weird - but I still like it that he's close - which is even weirder.

"What if I'm not ready for this?" I whisper. "What if I'm not good at it?"

"You'll be a great leader, Snow, you always have been. You're better at this political stuff than I am," he encourages me, echoing our conversation from just days ago.

"Well, that's not saying much," I tease, responding the same way I did earlier. Bigby lets out a hoarse laugh.

"I'm just waiting for the day when this all blows over, when everything is peaceful for once," I say,

"We've been alive for centuries; we have centuries of history. It will never be over. We all have a habit of getting ourselves into pretty serious shit," Bigby replies. So much for encouragement.

"Boy, do I know that," I grumble.

"But if there's one person that can keep us all together, it's you," he seems so sincere when saying it, but I still don't believe him.

"I'm not the one who threw herself into war with Fabletown's deadliest criminals - and won; I'm not the one who solved the murder mystery. That was you, remember?" I tell him.

"But if I were deputy mayor, nobody would do a single thing I said. Can you imagine me trying to enforce a law on someone like Grendel, who already hates me?" I can. And it didn't turn out very pretty. Last time, Gren lost an arm.

"You already do that, Bigby," I remind him with a laugh.

"Yeah, but at least it's under your orders, not my own."

"That's the only thing I _can't_ imagine," I say.

"What?"

"You sitting down and writing a law," I joke. For the first time that night, I fully smile, and Bigby smiles back with his toothy, canine-esque grin.

Another gust blows through the garden, and it's Bigby that shivers this time. "Maybe it's time to go inside," he suggests.

"Yeah," I agree. "It's late."

We step into the lobby, and I instantly feel the cold melt off of me. I give the coat back to Bigby. We step into the elevator and both press the buttons to our floors. "Thanks," I tell him. "Thanks for everything. You've done great, sheriff."

"You too, Ms. Deputy Mayor," he replies, still sort of grinning. The elevator doors slide open. We're on Bigby's floor.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asks as he steps into the hallway.

I nod. Maybe things can be a little bit like they were. Maybe I can still see him as much, still stop by his office. I smile at Bigby as the doors slide closed. I think I get it now. I get why I wanted to see him so bad, and why I tried to distance myself from him by acting so formal. I know why I felt funny when we were so close in the garden. And I pray to God that nobody else ever finds out why. I think about his last words to me. "I hope so, Bigby," I talk to the air, "I hope so."

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**Thanks for reading! If you liked this, you can check out my other TWUA one-shot called "Lighten Up" (which, I can assure you, is much better than this one). I'll be back soon with another Snow/Bigby mini story, and then a much longer one after that. Please review or PM me with any suggestions or problems with this story, I am super open to anything you guys say.**

**Until next time,**

**~Gray**


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